Pomona Stream floods after delays to much needed storm water maintenance

by Cllr. Pieter Henning — DA Councillor in Ward 25 Ekurhuleni

Date: 18 August 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media statement

Due to the continual neglect of storm water infrastructure by the ANC-led City of Ekurhuleni, the silted up Pomona Stream has been flooding many low lying residential properties in the area.

The flooding is the result of a lack of maintenance on the infrastructure that facilitates the flow of water from the stream, specifically the blocking of the storm water drains and the silting of the Stream combined with invasive reeds, which have caused the flooding.

The project intending to desilt the stream and upgrade the low water bridge has been on the Integrated Development Plan for Ward 23 and 25 for the last five years, multiple delays as well as heavy rains have now caught up with the inefficient Metro while residents are the ones that pay the price.

The unblocking of the Stream, which runs from Elgin Road via Constantia Road and EP Malan Road and then crossing Galpina Road in Pomona Extension 2, has experienced multiple administrative delays — namely the Department of Road and Stormwater struggle to obtain a water license. Following the eventual granting of the license in 2019, the first phase of the project was supposed to start in early 2020 only to be met with delays related to the first lockdown associated with Covid-19.

Only after a number of disputes over the appointment of a contractor, the site was eventually handed over on the 13th of October 2020 with a contractual period for Phase One of four months (ending 16 March 2021). Due to heavy rains coinciding with that period, the completion date was extended to the 28th of March, then to the 13th of May, then to the 11th of August and finally reopened on the 13th of August.

The closure of the Galpina for the upgrade of the low water bridge caused major inconvenience to residents. Only after continued pressure by the DA councillor was the bridge, and road, re-opened on Friday 13 August 2021 at 2PM

It is now imperative that the City urgently attends to Phase 2 and 3 of the project, which involves the desilting on the Stream before the summer rains, which will only exacerbate the flooding in the area leading to extensive residential property damage. The Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni will ensure that the Department is held to account in meeting the project’s completion deadlines and thereby providing the services to residents that they are constitutionally mandated to do.

#Time4Change

*Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr. Pieter Henning

DA Councillor in Ward 25 Ekurhuleni